Index Card RPG

Risus: The Anything RPG is a universal, rules-light tabletop role-playing game designed by S. John Ross and published by Cumberland Games & Diversions. Originally released in 1993, with its definitive version 2.0 published in 2013, the system was created as a high-velocity framework to run casual, humorous, or completely impromptu gaming sessions across any narrative genre. Description Risus prioritizes improvisational storytelling and minimalist mechanics over granular simulation or tactical grid combat. Instead of tracking traditional numeric attributes, skills, or rigid character classes, characters are defined entirely by broad cultural or narrative tropes called "Clichés." The game operates on a high degree of system abstraction, utilizing a completely unified conflict engine where physical combat, intense debates, artistic competitions, and legal battles are resolved using the exact same mathematical pipeline. While frequently utilized for comedic play due to its loose restrictions, the system's structural logic allows it to be scaled for serious or dramatic campaigns. Links drivethrurpg.com - DriveThruRPG store page (Free) risusiverse.com - Risusverse, a community wiki

Mothership is an action-packed mixture of sci-fi and horror themes, combined into a streamlined gaming system about surviving in the cold, deadly vacuum of space while everything around you is trying to kill you. All at the same time as you are fighting (or fleeing from) alien creatures who aren't there to make any new friends. Chaos. It was published by Tuesday Knight Games and released in 2024.  It is a survival horror system designed for one-shots and campaigns, inspired by classics like Alien, Event Horizon, and Pandorum. Famous for its streamlined ruleset and award-winning graphic design that prioritizes ease of use at the table. The game, at the same time simplistic and streamlined in design, will challenge the characters at all times, allowing the game to focus on the storytelling and less on having complicated rules. The system it is inspired by is Old School Renaissance Description In Mothership, players take on the roles of blue collar workers in space, such as Teamsters, Scientists, Androids, and Marines. You are not powerful or heroic soldiers; you are vulnerable humans trapped in high pressure environments with alien monsters, failing life support systems and the crushing weight of corporate greed. The game is designed to be fast-paced and unforgiving, where the primary goal is not to win, but often enough - to survive. System Overview & Key Features d100 Percentile Resolution In the core of the game system is the d100 percentile system. Roll two d10 dice and get a number from 00 to 99. Success means rolling a lower result than your character's appropriate stat or skill for the task. Rolling a double, like 11, 22, or 33, is considered a critical success if it succeeds or a critical failure if it fails. Rolling low is the target for survival. Stress and Panic As characters encounter horrors or suffer trauma, they accumulate Stress. When a character experiences a terrifying event or rolls a critical failure they must make a Panic Check. The more Stress they have, the more likely they are to suffer a catastrophic mental breakdown, ranging from a heart attack to a violent psychotic break. The Save System Instead of a long list of saving throws, characters have four primary Saves: Sanity, Fear, Body, and Armor. These are used to resist different types of potential trauma. Fear saves are rolled to keep your cool under pressure, while Sanity saves represent your ability to process alien truths without losing your mind (think lovecraftian horrors). Class Based Skills The game features four distinct classes. Marines are obviously combat focused, Teamsters are pilots and laborers, Scientists are experts in medicine and biology, and Androids are cold calculating, yet efficient machines. Each class has it's unique starting stats and specific triggers for when they gain or lose Stress, which is based on their personality. Lethal Combat and Healing Combat is extremely dangerous and often a last resort. Weapons are likely to deal potentially excessive damage when compared to a character's total healthpool. Healing will be slow and require resources that are hard to come by in the middle of the constant crisis, making every injury feel like a significant threat to the character's chances of making it out alive. Deadly Ship-to-Ship Combat The game includes a streamlined system for starship encounters. Ships have their own stats and modules that are likely to be damaged during a fight. Players must work together to manage various roles and stations, like Engineering or Piloting, to keep the ship's hull from breaching while under fire or fleeing from cosmic anomalies. Additional links tuesdayknightgames.com - Official Tuesday Knight Games website mothershiprpg.com - Official Mothership portal and digital resources

Basic Roleplaying is the venerable "D100" engine that has powered Chaosium’s greatest hits for over four decades. Originally appearing as a slim booklet in 1980, it was most recently revitalized as the Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine in 2023. In 2026, it stands as one of the industry's most important open-source platforms, released under the ORC License, allowing independent creators to build and sell their own games using its legendary, time-tested mechanics. Description BRP is a "genre-neutral" toolkit that discards character levels and rigid classes in favor of a pure skill-based system. Whether you are playing a Bronze Age warrior, a 1920s detective, or a futuristic mech pilot, the core experience remains the same: your character is defined by what they can do. Because it uses percentages (e.g., "I have a 65% chance to climb this wall"), it is widely considered the most intuitive and "transparent" RPG system for new players to understand at a glance. System Overview & Key Features The Universal D100 Engine Every action is resolved by rolling two ten-sided (d10) dice to get a result from 1 to 100. If you roll is equal to or under your skill rating, the action is deemed a success. This approach simplifies the mechanical process of the game, as there are no complex tables to keep track of and compare to decypher whether it is a success or failure. Organic Character Growth There is no "Experience Points" system in the traditional sense. Instead, when you succeed in using a skill, you mark a "Skill Check" on your character sheet. At certain stops in the game/story, the player rolls to see if the character improves in those skills, meaning your character evolves based specifically on the actions they performed (and succeeded at) during the game. Modular Rule Design The Universal Game Engine is designed with variations and systems to choose from. GMs can choose whether they prefer to just use "Hit Points" or add a more detailed wound system with "Hit Locations" for more realistic tactical consequences. Systems for Magic, Sorcery, Mutations, or Superpowers (depending on the setting) can be added, instead of being baked in the core mechanics, ensuring the mechanics always fit the theme of the game. Deadly and Tactical Combat BRP combat is grounded and dangerous. Unlike high-fantasy games where adventurers have a vast health pool, a single strike of a sword or bullet in BRP can be fatal. This encourages players to think creatively and use mechanics and terrain to their advantage. Talking their way out of situations is often seen as more reasonable (and survivable), than just treating every conflict as a forced combat situation. The ORC License Revolution By introducing to the Open RPG Creative (ORC) license, BRP started a wave of third-party "Powered by BRP". This has expanded the system into new genres like Cyberpunk, Wuxia, and Cozy Fantasy, all supported by a single, unified ruleset and system, compatible with most themes. Compatibility with "The Big Three" Because the core mechanics have remained the same since the beginning, a monster or spell from a 1980s supplement is almost always compatible with the modern 2026 engine. This gives GMs access to one of the largest libraries of pre-written adventures in tabletop gaming, spanning Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, and Pendragon. Additional links chaosium.com/brp : Official BRP Universal Game Engine portal basicroleplaying.org : The primary community hub and "BRP Central" forums

Forged in the Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game framework and System Reference Document created by John Harper. Released in 2017, it is the underlying engine that powers Blades in the Dark and has since been used by independent designers to build countless other games, such as Scum and Villainy and Band of Blades. It excels at telling stories about capable but flawed groups of people pulling off daring missions against overwhelming odds. The system it directly evolved from is Blades in the Dark Description Instead of being a single game, Forged in the Dark is an open license toolkit. Players form a crew, whether they are space smugglers, military mercenaries, or rebel outcasts, and undertake dangerous missions known as Scores. The system is heavily narrative and focuses on failing forward, meaning a bad dice roll never stalls the story, but instead introduces a new complication. It completely eliminates tedious planning phases by throwing players directly into the action. System Overview & Key Features The d6 Dice Pool To resolve a risky action, a player rolls a pool of six sided dice based on their action rating. The highest single die determines the result. A six is a full success, a four or five is a partial success with a consequence, and a one to three is a bad outcome. Position and Effect Before the dice hit the table, the Game Master establishes the Position (Controlled, Risky, or Desperate) and the Effect (Limited, Standard, or Great). This ensures everyone understands exactly what is at stake and how much impact the action will have. Progress Clocks The game tracks complex threats and long term projects using circular clocks divided into segments. A stealth mission might have a clock for the guards going on high alert, filling up bit by bit as the players roll partial successes or failures. Stress and Resistance Characters have a Stress track that they can spend to push themselves for extra dice or to assist an ally. More importantly, players can spend Stress to resist any consequence the Game Master introduces, allowing characters to survive deadly situations by sheer willpower. Flashbacks Players do not need to spend hours planning a heist or mission. When they encounter an obstacle, they can simply spend Stress to declare a flashback, narrating how their character anticipated the problem and set up a solution in the past. Phases of Play The game flows through specific phases. Free Play is where characters gather information and choose a target. The Score is the actual mission. Finally, Downtime allows the crew to recover from injuries, reduce their heat, and work on personal projects before the cycle begins again.

Thirsty sword lesbians battle a tyrannical ruler when her enforcers march down from the frosty north. They rocket through the stars to safeguard diplomats ending a generations-old conflict. They sip tea together and share shy glances at the corner cafe, until they need to take up their swords to defend their community. Even in conflict, they seek peace with their opponents—and sometimes connect more deeply than anyone expects. Your thirsty sword lesbians may be fantasy heroes, or may inhabit a galaxy of laser swords and starships. Anywhere that swords cross and hearts race, thirsty sword lesbians are there. A sword duel can end in kissing, a witch can gain her power by helping others find love, and an entire campaign can be built around wandering matchmakers flying from planet to planet. Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a roleplaying game for telling queer stories with friends.

Follow the adventures of a rotating cast featuring the funniest comedians, actors and improvisors around. Listen as they attempt daring deeds, epic exploits and behave like buffoons in this comedy actual play series from Jasper William Cartwright. Started by Zac Oyama in 2020 the show is now entering a new era as from Arc 8 Jasper William Cartwright will be taking over the reigns as DM, continuing the story in the world of Amalar & beyond into Axis. Links headgum.com - Podcast feed spotify.com - Spotify feed patreon.com - Patreon page